Chapter 5: Arrogant Cryptkeeper's Key
Jonahs breathed as he finally returned to the site – it looked like everyone from the Barge was out okay, though there was definitely some anxiety brewing. A number of his fellow students were loudly protesting to some of the people in charge of the barge.
"We didn't sign up for this to be launched into some political drama!"
"Yeah, we just wanted some extra credit! What's the deal? Why won't you say what exactly made us have to land besides "difficulties with the engine"?"
The Captain sighed audibly as he stated in a tired tone, "We're just as confused as you all are. Please rejoin the other passengers while we and...some of your fellows try to...find out what is going on."
The students walked past Jonahs and the others, looking distraught and dejected. And the keyblade wielder couldn't help but feel guilty about all of this. If it hadn't been for his stupid wish, they wouldn't be in so much trouble.
Eva put a hand on his shoulder, and the Captain immediately looked over at him and asked, "Did you see anything of note out there? Any hint of the saboteur?"
Jonahs thought that surely the saboteur would flee out there, into the jungle, but the more he thought about it the more ridiculous the idea sounded. This was firmly an Alliance World, and he'd find no purchase in any civilization out here.
Shouji, one of the few students who was apparently taking a brighter view of this, put a hand on Jonahs' shoulder, "Look, Jonahs, its not your fault. Nobody could know this would happen in advance."
Jonahs managed to get a wry smile on his face, thinking up something he found funny, thus managing to get himself out of that, "...Yeah, I guess you're right. So, Shou, any word about what's going on?"
"No, my mother contacted me to say that she's trying to get Sarasho to move to rescue us, but he's apparently quite busy." Shouji didn't seem very affected by this, perhaps he was enjoying the chance to look into another world.
Jonahs did not doubt that – probably trying to find an excuse to shut the museum down. He knew why Sarasho was trying to do it. It was a more complicated scenario, one he could figure out when he wasn't trying to avoid being swept up in a game of Fifty Scheme Pick Up.
That was when Setanta came running over, breathing heavily, looking like he was trying to stop himself from having a certain reaction, "Guys, there's a problem – the forces of the Magistrate..."
Magistrate? Jonahs didn't remember any stories about magistrates in this World, but he remembered that his father had not been here for a long time. Maybe things had changed.
It looked like everyone was heading into the center of the camp, so Jonahs followed along, though Shouji seemed to bristle a bit at what Setanta said for some reason, he decided to follow along as well.
By the time they got there, it was apparent there were a large number of armored soldiers carrying what looked like longswords and muskets of some kind, their faces obscured by blue visored helmets.
The leader among them shouted, "Due to the danger and uncertainty our esteemed citizens have espoused about having a group of outworlders hanging around in our forest, we have been called upon to guide you into the safety of our Mega City."
Jonahs did not trust this guy, almost immediately. He didn't know what it was. "We're just waiting for our World Barge to be repaired. I don't think it would be that much trouble."
The man seemed shocked that Jonahs would speak up and contradict him, "Maybe you, boy, did not hear correctly. People living in the great City do not want you and your outworld cohorts out here."
And so the young man had his suspicions confirmed to a degree – this was a group of thugs, sent to make sure they didn't see something.
The teacher walked over to Jonahs and lightly tugged on his arm, not used to the audacity the former student was showing. "Jonahs...keep in mind, there are students here who do not have weapons or training...if you start something, others could get hurt."
Jonahs grimaced, not liking the thought of being taken in by some haughty shill, clenching his left fist near his body, a slight black aura forming before just as quickly dissipating.
Eva looked ready to fight, even if Jonahs brought them into a fight with so many, though she calmed when she noted the black smoke again. She swore, if this kept up the way it was...
Jonahs, however, relented when he looked around at how scared everyone looked, "Fine. You win."
The Battalion Leader smarmily looked away, "Of course I do, you silly outworlder brat. But because I am gracious, I will send word to have your World Barge taken in and repaired sufficiently..."
He whispered something to two of his men, and they ran off.
Jonahs did not struggle any further when the group of students were taken into the custody of the Mega City Guards.
As they were gathered on to large floating vehicles, Jonahs got the distinct impression he was being herded off to prison or something, though at least he got to pick his company, and so went with Setanta, Shane, and Eva while waiting onboard.
It was by all accounts a rather miserable ride, though quick enough – Jonahs noted that some of the students were getting airsick due to the way the machine was wavering through the air.
If he had to guess, the pilots were unsure about their flight. Maybe they had some sort of further adversaries out here, and were worried about the students possibly getting involved. Still, Jonahs ruminated, he despised their smugness.
He looked out the windows despite the wavering and managed to take in the surroundings. It looked like immigrated technology from other worlds had made this one a combination of a modern world and one still dominated by the wilderness. Some of the metallic intrusions in the Jungle looked rusted and forgotten, like they were abandoned suddenly, in some cases doors still open and appliances left laying around.
They flew above a particularly large place that looked like it once housed people, yet now it appeared to be a ghost town – Setanta whispered to Jonahs from the next row of seats up, "Creepy, huh? I wonder what kinda town that was..."
Jonahs wondered that himself – what could've chased these guys out of their settlements in a hurry? They had every kind of weapon in their possession, and these airships.
There were plain signs of battle in the town squares and the alleyways, suggesting what had happened here degenerated into alley by alley battle, people likely ducking in and out of alleys and slitting throats.
Eva tapped the teenage Keyblade Wielder's shoulder, as if urging him to make sure to pay attention to something. It looked like the main area of this particular settlement was badly scarred up, numerous monuments defaced into becoming blank figures standing about.
He recognized the look of one of them. The blades they raised were chipped away and broken, but the handles Jonahs recognized, even from this distance – those statues were of Team KH, most likely constructed at the end of the Midnight Faction War.
Yet all this looked so dejected, probably forty or more years old, and those statues looked less than ten years old, battered as they were. What was going on here?
It seemed things settled down when they were done flying over that particular area, and the hostile air Jonahs sensed about the airship seemed to abate. Something told him this world had more problems to face than just Wolfang Richler's ambitions.
By the time the planes landed, even Jonahs felt a bit disoriented.
Walking out with Eva, Shane and Setanta by his side, it was apparent they had landed in a large military facility held off from the main city by a large though rudimentary fence. This was a world that seemed to mix old things with the new – he saw large skyscrapers dauntlessly ascending into the sky at the left of small scale apartments, though it all looked incredibly stale.
There was little color here except for gray, brown, and light blue.
The military personnel guided the students out of the facility and asked a variety of bizarre and nonsensical questions, such as;
"Why did you land there in particular? Do you have odd sympathies?"
"Have you participated in any political rallies against the Maynes Family lately?"
"What are your thoughts on civilization versus nature?"
And Jonahs answered them in a way that indicated he didn't care for any of their prodding, while denying affiliation with pretty much anything in terms of this world's screwed up politics. They let the students go into the city, though Eva and Shane were in the interrogation room longer than Jonahs or Setanta.
The rest of the students were basically let go, and from what Jonahs was told they would be hanging around in this world until the Barge was repaired well enough for them to head on home.
As Shane exited, Jonahs called over to him, "Hey, Shane, it seemed they were more intense on you and Eva...any clue why?"
Shane put his hand on his chin and wondered what to say. He decided and wistfully sighed, "They didn't seem to like me or Eva. They were pretty aggressive in their interrogation..."
Eva looked away from the grimacing Jonahs, it was plain as day that if he wasn't opposed to the people in this city, he was now. Jonahs clenched his fist and started to walk off. Whispering to himself, he promised; "I'll find each and every one of their secrets and tear it open. I won't let their secrets remain hidden. I'll expose it all to the light of day..."
Eva ran forward and put her hand on his shoulder, "Jonahs, listen, it wasn't that bad...you don't need to-"
He looked back at her, he was tearing himself up inside desperately wanting to protect her, even if it meant fighting against impossible odds. Even if it meant...he would need to do things that Sora would not think to do.
"Eva, we need to do something. This world..." Gathering his friends around him as they left the area, Jonahs whispered to them, "This world has a lot of secrets, and whoever these guys are who set up shop here, they're haughty and they brutalize people whenever they feel like it. I'm not about to let it go."
Shane nodded, smiling in a rather odd way, "I'm with Jonahs on this one. Where I come from, we speak force to oppressive power, and with the Keyblade...well, I think Jonahs knows as well as any of us do..."
Jonahs looked up at the skyline. That was right. He was a Keyblade Wielder, and that meant, to him at least, fighting to make sure worlds were not infected by Darkness or put under an oppressive heel. He remembered what his father did in fighting the Dark Empire and Axis, and that the old way of not involving oneself overmuch in the affairs of the worlds WAS pretty much dead.
There was no reason not to get involved.
The only question was, how do they even get started with this Mega City? Jonahs conjured up his Keyblade, "Well, first and foremost we need to get our class to safety – if we start moving against the city they're not in harms way. And that means finding out just what they're hiding."
Eva shook her head, she knew once the boys got themselves into an idea like this it'd be impossible to shake them out of it. "Alright, I'm in, too. Those people in there questioned me about a group called the Non-C's, they used it like an epithet. So I think that's one place to start."
Setanta leaned against the wall of a nearby apartment building and thought on this, "Non-C...well, if we combine what we heard with that, could it be Non-City Dweller? I mean, they were pretty hush hush during the trip over that old area. I'm guessing people are living out there."
Jonahs supposed that made sense, and he looked around before replying, "Alright, that is a good start. We'll find out who the Non-C's are, and see what we can do about our class."
And whatever Wolfang's got going on here. I refuse to believe none of this is his doing. He's still got that mole who was on board. Our class and the whole of the staff of that barge were gathered in this City.
Does he want his mole inside the city?
Jonahs thus started the group toward what looked like a large library, though it looked rather abandoned, and without much activity.
The group decided to spread out and look through the books laying around for any clues. Jonahs did not feel good about this, but he figured if he wanted to put a stop to Wolfang's schemes, he needed to learn as much as he could.
He was rather confused by one of the books he found.
He read to himself, deciding against reading it aloud;
Long ago, there existed the great gardeners of the Worlds of Light, before the Dark Empire was even an idea in the mind of Cavendish. These great winged Light Ones called the Aeolians did tend to the most radiant of gardens, worlds unbound.
Yet in time did the great schism occur, lo, did the Dark split from the Light.
The Dark did create various beasts and Kings of the Deepest Darkness. And as battle was waged, and the worlds splintered yet more, the Aeolians laid the blame up'n themselves and the Wingless among them.
And so did they vanish, into the mists of the Gate of Lindzei, up into the higher Realms of Light. Blessed, Brilliant Lindzei does guard this gate zealously, preventing any approach.
Jonahs put the book down when he heard someone coming, deciding to do some thinking on that information when he had some free time. Still, the fact it mentioned "winged ones" made him remember Wolfang and his proclivities, and perhaps gave a clue as to the origins of said sorcerer.
The sole individual inside was the sole remaining librarian of this old library, an extremely old looking man who immediately looked excited and happy to see someone stopping by.
"Oh my oh my...a visitor...this has to be one of the first new customers I've had in...oh, ten years..."
Ten years?
The Keyblade Wielder and his friends decided the old librarian was probably the first person to talk to, and Jonahs asked, "Can you tell me why you get so few visitors? I mean, this is a pretty big library."
Indeed, the library was a large, three story building with numerous bookcases and shelves, separated into genre and era, and with numerous hints that once upon a time this had been a thriving location.
The old man somberly reflected, "Well, it all started five years ago, when that blasted Icatian came to power. He was selected by the Alliance, but he rules here like a dictator. He discouraged the reading of books, using a campaign to make the world's inhabitants throw themselves into work rather than reflection..."
The old man coughed, and Jonahs put a hand on his shoulder, steadying him through the coughing fit. "My thanks, young one. Now...what is it you're here looking for?"
Setanta spoke up, "Well, I can see you probably have no love for the Magistrate, so...we were hoping you might have some books on the Non-C's."
The old man drew back a little, but then steadied himself, "The Non-C's you say? Oh, ohohoh, you mean the ones who live outside The City. Well, I'm already not exactly on either Alric or Magistrate Nemo's list of favourites, so I'll share – there are books in the third aisle over there, and I can tell you all you need to know besides."
Eva nodded and replied, "Please go on then, sir."
The old librarian chuckled, "Such a polite young lady...alright. The Non City Dwellers are a group of people who rejected the call to live within the Cities created by the Maynes Administration here. They gathered most strongly around a Jungle-Living Man named...I think, Tarzan."
Jonahs remembered his father's stories about the adventure here, and his expression became one of awe, "...then, that means..."
"Yes, Tarzan, the same one who fought beside Sora during his stay here so long ago. His descendants and the descendants of the original Non City Dwellers have become quite a thorn in the Magistrate's side. At first they were at peace, but more and more, each new Magistrate attempted to expunge and cleanse the jungle of the Non-C's."
Eva gasped, covering her mouth and looking terrified by the realization of what kind of place they were in. "That's...that's terrible!"
The old man continued morosely, "Oh, but I'm afraid it gets worse. The Non-C's have, in response, begun harrying and attacking Mega City denizens and Borderline Dwellers. This battle has been going on for years, in silence, due to the complicity of the ruling governments. Trust me when I say that if either side wins, we civilians lose."
Jonahs knew what he had to do now. He had to stop this from going any further. No matter what.
Shane just looked extremely familiar with this sort of thing, like he'd fought it before. Jonahs decided he'd need to talk with Shane some more and see what his experience on his world had been like.
Setanta asked next, "Alright, so the governments here are rotten. How can we try to talk to the Non-C's?"
The old man pointed outward, "I'd say just go out into the jungle. You'll find them sooner or later. Its just a question of whether you want them to find you or you to find them."
Jonahs offered his hand to the old man, who took it, "Thank you for your time. I think we know where we're going now."
As the group left, the old man looked down at his hand and whispered with a bitter smile on his face, "A Keyblade Wielder's hand...truly, it carries a lot of weight."
However, as Jonahs and his companions left, he found around a large number of men in black clothes standing around outside, ramrod straight as if they were robots. Each wearing dark red sunglasses and wielding what looked like a tonfa and a straight sword.
Jonahs took little time to guess what was going on, and prepared his Keyblade, "Get outta our way or else."
Eva supposed that he was getting used to battle, but this would be the first time he would be fighting other humans. She hoped the experience didn't do something to his mind.
Setanta prepared his spear, Eva her two-sided sword, and Shane stepped forward a bit more.
One of the agents spoke, "I'll give you one chance to surrender quietly before you're taken violently into custody. You've been thinking a little too much about what's going on, and trust me when I say some time in the labor camp will work that right out of your mind."
However, while he was making that pronunciation, it looked like one of the other agents started to get a call, taking out a primitive device, "...that boy, he's the son of Sora...HQ says we-"
Shane suddenly charged forward, one his hands shifting slightly, the fingernails suddenly resembling extremely sharp, wolf-like nails. He swiped his claw across the commanding officer's throat three times in the time it took for a blink to occur.
The officer fell backward, his throat eviscerated, dead before he hit the ground.
Jonahs felt like cursing as the other agents charged on in, wielding their blades and batons, the rod-like weapons crackling with energy.
Jonahs slashed through a baton and then rebalanced his form, dodging a slash from a sword and planting his Keyblade through the agent's gut. He grimaced – this was his first blood he guessed – but he had much more important things to think about.
Rationalizing, he immediately headed for Eva, kicking one of the agents down when he tried to attack her from behind while she was fighting another. There was no time to await moral dictation when things like this were going on.
Jonahs promptly stabbed through one of the charging security agents, pulled up and out, and looked at Eva. Who seemed far more used to this than he'd think.
The son of Sora whirled on his feet and struck down another of the unit.
Setanta cracked one of their skulls and then threw the spear at the downed agent when he tried to crawl back up with his sword. The young spearman retrieved his weapon and spun it in a circle to deflect a sword, and then slashed through the wielder.
He looked over as Jonahs was about to turn to face another of the agents of the Magistrate when Shane darted in and struck the agent dead.
Jonahs breathed as it seemed the battle – for now – was done. But this more than exposed what kind of regime this was. And he was not willing to trust in their judgment or let them host his friends.
I need to fix this place. The young Keyblade Wielder thought as they started to leave the library area, to commence "finding the Non-Cs".
Jonahs however, as someone who had never been to this world, had only a limited understanding of surroundings...though, past a certain point, Shane took over and started guiding the group out. Toward the very edges of the city.
The Borderlands were a rather patchy looking place, numerous apartments sloppily constructed right next to one another, all made of brown and grey colors, a color scheme shared with the road and the sky, due to the factories the Maynes Family operated in the City.
The factories around here were belching disgusting smoke into the sky, and Jonahs didn't want to know what they were making to put that kind of stuff out.
However before too long it looked like there was yet more battle to be had here. A large collection of men in what looked like animal skins and wielding strange crystalline weapons were harrying a group of the dark clad men. Jonahs recognized the dark clad men's weapons, and saw they were probably of the same group that attacked them earlier.
Deciding to get right to it, Jonahs got in just in time to see one of the crystal wielders slay one of the dark clad men and force the others against a wall. It was clear from here what would happen if nobody intervened.
Jonahs rushed in ahead of his friends and blocked a blow coming in from one of the Crystal Wielders by grabbing the weapon at the hilt, then kicking the guy wielding it down. This followed by spinning the staff-like weapon around in his left hand and then pointing it at the other raiders.
Eva and Setanta came in and drew their weapons at Jonahs' sides, the raiders taking a further step back.
Their leader stepped forward, forcing aside the grunts at the front.
He was a tall, heavily built young man, probably had been training most of his life, long dark hair tied back on his head, blue-green eyes staring out of his face, giving the impression he'd been fighting just as long as he'd been training. He was wearing a number of patched together pieces of military outfits, including a coat, a vest underneath, a long sleeved t-shirt under that, camouflage print pants with some armor sewn on, his boots ending in steel pieces.
Jonahs immediately identified his weapon, a large voulge hanging across his back, which he wasted little time in drawing. The blades were made of far more refined crystal.
Shane helpfully walked up behind the Regime grunts and whispered, "Gents, Gents, it'd be appreciated if you ran."
And indeed they needed little assistance in that. The inexperienced newer members of the Magistrate's guardsmen fled the field.
For a time there was a stare off between the young leader of the raid corps and the Keyblade Wielder, the two sizing one another up, running their moves through their heads and judging how one another would counter.
Not letting his guard down despite it, the leader of the raiders smirked a little, "...I see the Keyblade makes no mistakes. A Chosen is not some lout or Maynes Clan toadie. I'm Andore, one of the leaders of the Non City Dwellers."
Jonahs smiled and outstretched his hand, and despite his seemingly vulnerable position, Andore immediately knew better than to try anything. "I'm Jonahs."
There were a large number of gasps among the raiders, some of them mumbling something that oddly sounded like profuse apologies. Others glared and cursed out one another for something. The Non City Dwellers appeared to have quite a good opinion of Sora.
Andore remarked, "I have heard of the...son...of Sora...and of your-"
Jonahs looked down for a moment, though he never let his guard down. Andore got the message, and sighed, "My apologies, Jonahs. That is something I surmise you do not wish discussed."
Shane stood off to the side, wondering what this "that" was, and how it related to Jonahs. There was a lot he currently did not know about these guys, and Jonahs' personal history seemed murky. Sora was quite old now, and it was not likely that Jonahs was a direct son.
Unless-
Jonahs shifted and finally relaxed, and started to walk with Andore, and he gestured to his friends to follow. Setanta didn't like this guy, but he supposed that Jonahs needed to find someone willing and able to take a stand against the Magistrate and his forces.
And these Non-C's were exactly what they were looking for.
Eva walked up to Jonahs and Andore immediately asked the young Keyblade Wielder, "Is this your woman? She is lovely..."
Eva lightly swatted Andore on the head, making him wince and chuckle a little. Andore noted her willingness to do such a thing to a guy who looked like he had some 40 pounds on her or more, "My, she's a spitfire...reminds me of my mother."
Jonahs smiled and nodded, "Oh yeah, that's Eva, she spars with me when...when we're back home..." Jonahs paused and gave an attempt at a conciliatory glance to Eva, "...y-your mom?"
Andore nodded, taking into account Eva's now rather unreadable expression, though she seemed testy, "Oh yes, my mother led our people before I did. She fought the Magistrate night and day, from the frontlines..."
Eva's expression softened as Andore recited the story.
The jungle man continued, "She was the bravest person I ever knew, more than I can say for my father."
Eva asked in a somewhat concerned tone, "...Was...?"
Andore looked aside and sighed, getting to the saddest part of the story, "She...died, just a month ago, poisoned by agents of the Magistrate. The man who did it, I struck him down myself. He went down laughing all the way."
Eva put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm...so sorry for your loss..."
The young leader shrugged it off, "I dealt with my grief, and I'm not about to allow it to invite chaos and darkness into me. Just seeing you, though, and your camaraderie with each other...reminds me of the better days."
As they continued out from the borderlands through a breach in the walls and into the jungle, Jonahs asked, "The...better days?"
Andore scouted out some of the trees as if testing the area for hidden threats, and stated as he did so, "Aye, when my mother led us to the field, we fought the Magistrate equally, and he could not achieve any lasting victories. However...I am utterly inadequate it seems..."
Two of the raiders turned and looked at Andore, downcast, "Sir, do not blame yourself. If anyone must receive blame, let us weaklings unable to defeat the forces of the Magistrate receive that."
Eva looked on, feeling oddly touched by the camaraderie these men were displaying. Even though they were raiders, she got the feeling they only did this because they needed the resources.
Jonahs looked down, a lot had gone bad here, and was forcing legitimately good people into bad roles to make due with scarce resources. It just functioned to make it all the more clear to him he needed to bring the Magistrate down personally.
As for Shane, he hanged around near the back, keeping his hands behind his head. He felt very at home here in the denser trees and foliage, though he only commented, "So, I'm surmising you want us to help lead a big charge on the Magistrate. If you languish out here any longer..."
Andore looked back at the dark haired boy and responded, "Keyblade Wielder, your friend speaks truly, he perhaps has a stronger tactical mind than what is apparent."
Shane waved his hands a little in front of him, smiling like a fox, "Ah, what, me? Aww, you've got me on the spot..."
Jonahs admitted he did know next to nothing about Shane except for the fact he was an incorrigible playboy and...
He remembered Shane's charge on that agent of the Magistrate when he was saying something about Jonahs' parentage. That was a deal more suspicious than anything he'd done before. Did Shane WANT them to fight the Magistrate's forces more head on?
It was something that deserved looking into. But for right now, there was fighting to be done, and Jonahs was not about to waste time on something. Besides, there was no way Shane was the mole – the mole was present on the ship, capable of sabotage, and was in all likelihood allied with the Magistrate.
While that cleared Shane of that suspicion, there was the chance he might be a representative of a force they just hadn't fought yet.
After that long pause, Jonahs looked upward, "Well, Shane, I trust you. You've stuck with us this far. We're going to need your help to bring down the Magistrate. Whatever truth there is to your tactical mind, please...we need that kind of assistance."
Shane opened his eyes, showing they suddenly looked a deal colder than before, "You sure? You're going to have to accept the victory I bring you, not the idealized concept of victory you probably have."
Andore seemed to get it and nodded, "What matters is stopping the brutal repression of the Magistrate."
Eva looked at the newest addition to their team and decided she was in this too. "Yeah...just as long as you promise, Andore, that with this your raiding days end."
Andore muttered something to the men, and then they said something back, followed by Andore shouting something in the strange local tongue the Non-City Dwellers seemed to speak.
The young leader looked over at the Keyblade Wielder and his allies, "Very well, my men pledge upon their ancestors' spirits that once the Magistrate is removed, then the raids will end."
Jonahs then remembered the Heartless he saw out in the wilds, and asked, "I've seen some creatures out here...I believe..."
Then he was interrupted by a case of speak of the devil, because a veritable small army of the Dark Monkey Heartless appeared in front of Jonahs and his allies.
The Key Wielder promptly summoned his weapon, but kept from charging in when he noticed soemone else exiting the darkness in the midst of the Heartless. She was wearing a dress one might wear to their own burial, her face painted chalk white, giving the appearance of a cadaver due to her lack of expression and near perpetual dead-eyed stare.
She promptly spoke, clearing her voice once, "Jonahs, Setanta, Eva, Shane and you foolish Raiders, I am Lady Bracken, envoy of the Magistrate, and his...court magician."
Jonahs angrily pointed the Key Blade at her, "Don't give me that! You're using the power of Darkness to corrupt this world, aren't you?"
She proceeded to respond in a manner almost sounding like an accusation, "Don't you use these wonderful powers yourself? I saw you out there, the wondrous darkness called to your left hand."
Jonahs looked down, feeling utterly ashamed of his own weakness, but then calling forth anger to silence his shame. "You shut up! I bet you were even..."
She showed some slight expression, a twinge of her mouth toward a smirk, "...involved in a tragic, tragic accident regarding a world barge?"
Setanta angrily stepped forward and pointed his spear at her, "That was you! You were the mole! Wolfang's man...er, wom-"
However, when Setanta said "man" her face showed an ugly frown, "Silence you ugly little child! Yes, I sabotaged your ship and stranded you here. What matters now..." She retained her composure, "...is that the Magistrate is not a merciless man. He is willing to let you and your friends go home...as long as you and your little friends spend some time in a labor camp..."
Jonahs looked down for a moment, and Bracken showed a slight smile, thinking he was seriously considering it. With all she knew of him, he would take the path of least effort.
He finally responded, his voice wavering with rage, "Lemme show you where you can shove that offer – THUNDER!" Jonahs extended his left hand, a dark glow showing slightly and causing him a brief pain and then a mass of thunder ripped through the air on its way to Lady Bracken, a slight dark tinge to it.
She only disappeared into the darkness again, ripping aloud into a malicious laugh, even as the thunder dealt with a number of her Heartless minions. "Yes, let that rage fester in your heart – you're all the more handsome for it! KAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Jonahs, as the Heartless charged for them, murmured to himself in reply, "...this rage...is mine."
He promptly struck down a Dark Monkey leaping right at him, slashing then in a wide arc to take out three more of the creatures.
Eva covered his back, slashing down a Dark Monkey that tried to sneak in from behind whilst the others were fighting. She then noted Setanta was getting swarmed and prepared her two sided sword, slashing once with it and sending a blade shaped shockwave that cleared through a number of them, allowing Setanta to break through.
Shane was ripping through monkey after monkey, all with his bare hands...er...
Jonahs noticed while helping two of Andore's raiders fight off the heartless that Shane's hands for some reason looked a deal more bestial when he was fighting, tipped with...were those claws?
He decided whatever way his friend chose to fight, was fine, and besides, he thought somewhat wryly as he struck down another Dark Monkey, Dad fought alongside Beast, and there was little or no problem there.
Andore crushed one of the Dark Monkeys under his weapon of choice, his two sided Crystalline Voulge, and then spun it around him to take out four surrounding heartless.
"Hah, this is really quite a workout..."
Jonahs moved up next to him and the two promptly struck down Heartless on opposite sides of one another, and the young Key Wielder nodded, "Nice fighting you got going on..."
Andore responded similarly, "The same could be said for you."
Eva sent out a pair of shockwaves to take out two pouncing Monkeys trying to get the drop on the guys, and suggested in a certain dry fashion, "You guys can work the bromance after we're done fighting a Heartless Army."
Setanta seemed to channel some element of his grandfather's berserk tendencies, rushing around the field, striking down one Heartless after another, though he seemed to look back over to Jonahs whenever he got too, ah, "into it."
The spearman thought to himself as he finished another of the monkey heartless, Its thanks to you guys I'm not a monster. What I felt back there in Oceansburg...I can channel it, but...
His teeth clenched.
Jonahs ran over and slashed through three of the Dark Monkeys, the Heartless dissipating only seconds after Jonahs' rush with his sword ended. "You good, Setanta?"
"You know it! Lets finish these guys!"
And finally the main combatants finished off the last five of the monkeys, leaving them tired but feeling triumphant.
Jonahs pumped his hand in the air, and shouted, "You see that!? We're comin' for you next, Lady Bracken!"
Andore smirked and pat Jonahs on the shoulder, "Whew, its been a while since I fought alongside someone able to keep up like that. Glad to see you can beat the Magistrate's newest toadies. These "Heartless" started showing up not long ago...I was told the flow of them was stymied – that was a small army..."
The raider unit was looking awestruck at the group that led the charge against that demented platoon of ape-demons.
One Raider walked forward and stated, boisterous and confident, "If we have such might on our side, the days of the Magistrate are short and bound to last mere hours!"
Cheers all around, and Eva admitted the confidence was nice to have, and it was good to see them all moving forward now, but the question remained – who was that "Lady Bracken" and why was she interested in Jonahs?
She got a distinct feeling from the encounter that reminded her of a certain someone. She remembered overhearing Jonahs talking to that person, but whatever happened, she was sure he wouldn't do such a thing.
Jonahs looked back at her, noting how troubled she looked, and he thought for a moment on what they just saw. But for right now it was time to move forward. "Alright, Andore, get as many of your fellows together as possible. We're breaking the Magistrate's hold on this world tonight!"
More cheers abound, and Andore started to run off with that, leaping up into the trees and swinging off on some vines.
For now, Jonahs figured, they should wait and join up with Andore's group, and thusly launch their attack on the Magistrate's forces. The young key wielder looked off into the distance and ruminated, "As long as I carry this blade, I'll keep her safe, and no matter what, I will not allow people like them to prosper..."
Elva awoke on a sturdy military issued bed, looking around and seeing the faces of some rather concerned looking soldierly looking people. Her gaze fell upon their commander, the woman who she'd briefly talked to before she fell unconscious.
She seemed quite bored, though she moved off of the wall where she was leaning once Elva was awake. "You used far too much magical power in whatever fights you were involved in before you fell out of the sky. Tell me, who are you and where do you come from?"
Elva answered evenly, "I'm Elva, I come from Destiny Islands..."
Some gasps around her as the people realized who they just got done rescuing and treating.
"The Keyblade Master's Daughter..."
"...I heard she was still in high school. What's she doing all the way out here?"
"She isn't lying. I can just tell..."
This commander's soldiers were a rather diverse bunch. An earnest looking dark haired young man who oddly reminded Elva a little of Jonahs, a perky looking blond girl, an effeminately handsome silvery haired young man in a cloak of some sort over his security forces uniform, and a number of seemingly normal people with subtly different uniforms indicating a lower rank.
The commander noted all this discussion and asked next, "Alright, so assuming you're not lying, I'd like to ask what exactly you were doing that led up to your drop into Oceansburg?"
Elva gasped at this, truly this was Oceansburg then...why was she dropped out here? What did Deverez want from her to put her out here? "I-I was about to be attacked by a lot of Heartless back on Destiny Islands, and then I fell into some sort of portal..."
She refrained from mentioning Deverez, because she didn't know who he actually was, and whether or not his name carried any connotations.
The light blue haired woman nodded at this, crossing her arms, "I see...given what we know of Sora's adventures, it wouldn't be so strange to hear this happened...alright. I can see you're no friend to Hound Dog, seeing as you attacked them on sight. My name's Esdeath, I'm in command of the Military Police and Security Forces of Oceansburg. As you can tell, my job's become rather difficult lately."
Elva asked, rather confused, "The...Security Forces...?"
The cloaked young man stated their mission statement and origin, almost purely off memory, "Our office signed into being by Sneer in the last year of his office, the Security Forces are sworn to uphold the safety and security of the Worlds and Oceansburg in situations that do not demand a full deployment of the army. We have missions both on world and off."
Elva nodded at this, thinking that perhaps the innate fearsomeness of such a name could be eased by how helpful this woman had been so far. "...what in all's happened?"
The silvery haired man filled her in, "You haven't heard? A new "Dark Alliance" has formed out of that old Tsare Viole Castle. What's more, some gangs have showed up in Oceansburg, Hound Dog chief among them..."
Esdeath grumbled looking noticeably displeased, "And the Maynes Family insists on keeping me here, dealing with the underlings of the Dark Alliance rather than taking the fight to them. Alric only gives such important duties to his family..."
Elva looked down, nepotism in the highest rungs...Esdeath seemed to her like a highly competent sort, so this whole thing spoke of corruption. "Maybe the bastard thinks you've stepped over the wrong red tape."
Esdeath smiled somewhat bitterly at Elva, "I bet that's the case. I was the one who investigated the charges that his dear little monster of a son was brutalizing Alliance Citizenry for his own enjoyment..." Esdeath paused and punched one of the walls, leading to a broken section there, "...and doesn't it just fit that at a dire junction he's still playing political games."
Elva started to get up from the bed, feeling at ease and no longer so dizzy. "Alright, what's next?"
The dark haired young man replied, "Commander...?"
Esdeath smiled a little, "Go ahead, Wave."
Wave – obviously the name of the dark haired young soldier – walked to the side a little and said, "...We have received reports of unrest and strange activities in the Deep Jungle World. We have received the orders to go ahead, and given some of the reports put your brother there..."
Elva somewhat got what was going on, "Alright, I want to go with you. No matter what. Even if it means signing on to your forces, I'll do what I need to do to make sure Jonahs is safe." She remembered the crying boy of many years ago, and the terrible accident that happened.
Esdeath gave a small smile, "Very well. I think you've shown enough prowess to not slow us down...consider yourself an honorary part of our unit. If anyone asks, you're my newest Private..." The icy beauty chuckled somewhat darkly, "I demand brilliance from my soldiers, are you prepared to fight on a higher level?"
Elva looked up, utterly determined, "I have never been more prepared."
Esdeath started out the door, thinking to herself, This way, I can proceed without Maynes being able to casually assign us to something too dangerous to keep our unit occupied. The weasel wouldn't want the scandal. That...and I'll admit, she has a strong willpower. I can craft an incredible match for myself in her.
With that, the Security Forces of Oceansburg and their newest recruit so to speak got ready to leave for the Deep Jungle, while Hound Dog was still reeling from the most recent battle against them.
Though as Esdeath called in the World Lance-Boat, a far quicker and more militantly armed version of a World Barge, there was a prevailing thought among them – what in all was going on beyond the curtains? How committed was Alric Maynes to stopping the Dark Alliance in all honesty?
Both Elva and Esdeath now found themselves believing that there was more danger now than just some Darkness Manipulating Secession Advocates...
The Magistrate sat in his office, looking down at the pictures of the dead agents, and the grand mess Sora's son had made in his city. Not only had he found out about the Non-Cs, but he'd ended up joining with them!
Wolfang had never mentioned any of this happening in his prophecies, and the Magistrate was beginning to think that he had been had. The Wolf King was an infamous trickster, and as of now he was aligned with the forces that were rebelling against the Magistrate's bosses in the Alliance.
Perhaps it was foolish to trust such a man in the first place.
His worries were allayed however when Lady Bracken returned. A cold woman who had said she was allied with Wolfang, her face painted corpse-like white and with long hair, her outfit was what looked like a sort of burial dress.
If the Magistrate was a more superstitious man, he would've suspected she was some manner of ghost or demon.
She spoke, clearing her voice first, "Magistrate, do not worry about the issue of Wolfang's loyalties. Once he has pledged to fulfill a wish, he will fulfill it to the greatest extent possible."
Nemo looked rather perturbed for a moment, but then sighed, "Alright, I am willing to trust in him for now. However, I have it seems underestimated the Keyblade Wielder. I...need assistance."
Lady Bracken showed a smile that would frighten the walking dead, "Which is why I am here. Let me handle the, heh, Son of Sora for you. Tis not a fitting task for a man such as you, handling a whelp. Almost like applying a greatsword to the neck of a chicken..."
Even Nemo seemed to draw back at how her smile looked, and replied, "Very well. Do not hesitate. I want that brat dead. Make it look like an accident, I don't want the negative press of killing the son of a hero. At least if all else fails I have a steady supply of hostages..."
Bracken took out what looked like a large folding fan, "You do realize what would happen if you took hostage a large number of students and staff from Destiny Islands, correct? That place was once an unknown world, but now that Sora put it on the map, taking hostages from there would be your last act in office."
Nemo glared at her, and immediately tried to justify himself, "If all else goes well, they won't have the ability to-"
"-so you think you can intimidate them even off world. You forget – once they leave this world, your little dark clothed agents will be far out of their depth. And the Alliance has a vested interest in protecting such people. The moment it gets out, you're worse than dead."
Magistrate Nemo took a few steps backward, looking horrified.
Bracken folded the fan back up with a snap and stated, "Hence why I told you to let me handle him while you achieve your wish to my master."
The Magistrate had one final question, "How did you manage to sneak aboard that ship? I think someone with a...profile...like yours would be spotted easily?"
Bracken simply looked at him with dark, somewhat weary eyes, "This is simply a presentation of a preferred self."
With that, the strange lady left the Magistrate's chambers into a dark portal which billowed once as she entered it and then closed up and vanished behind her.
The Magistrate seemed to think on that, and looked outward at a mirror, "My wish is almost fulfilled...this city will be mine, now...and forever."
Meanwhile, Wolfang watched the ensuing events as Jonahs and his class were taken into the Mega City, grinning at the fact that this put Jonahs right where he needed to be. If not for the cause of the Magistrate...
I suppose its natural, that he rejects the natural order. He takes after his ancestor. Yet, he should in all honesty just cast aside that bothersome neuroses. It'll only cause him pain if this keeps up.
His mole within the Keybladers group was doing his job very well, maybe he just never considered them his friends, but rather, a collection of pawns. It made Wolfang grin, the loss of a friend and the retrieval of an enemy.
And for Jonahs, this meant that the people he surrounded himself with would be subject to scrutiny. Who can be trusted, who is a spy and who has ulterior motives? Would Jonahs even trust his little friends from Riku's Family?
To Wolfang the answer was obvious – no. These days you can hardly even trust yourself what with how often your Other turned up intending to kill you.
Admittedly, that was a little bit of conscious acknowledgement – a prominent schemer is often undone by the products of his own schemes. It paid to be aware of what you were doing and the effect it had. In these ways, Wolfang was not so blithe as to dismiss comprehension of his enemies.
He liked to think this was why he was able ultimately to escape imprisonment by himself, while old Summerill had to be unsealed, and even then the Wolf King knew that being's gratitude if expressed with a number could only be shown on a single hand.
On the other hand, fundamentally morally "righteous" individuals liked to think gratitude and services rendered worked a certain way, and even if they were facing someone like him, they always expected a certain thing.
It was enough to make him feel mirthful, almost...
The black-haired "angel" looked down at a pawn held between his index and middle finger, smirking slightly, "I hope he doesn't think he can get out of my plans like this. Fate has weaved a role for him, guided by my hand even as I roiled in that Vortex. You can't save him."
Wolfang took some time as he considered his progeny and those brought into their own to reminisce about that woman. They were all bittersweet memories. His offspring reflected more of their father than their mother's shining humanity.
From a very distant world he remembered the black and white winged one, who he sired, who went insane with power. Who was then cut down by the very same person he brought to a new height of greatness with his own schemes.
While it undeniably hurt to outlive one's offspring, if the fool had the presence his father had, then perhaps he could've exited that in one piece rather than many small pieces.
The King of the Sky considered everything else – there was a vow of a crackdown on his group by that idiot boar Alric, and the fact there was such a strong response was getting some interesting conversations going. The boredom Jonahs hated so much was going away.
Jonahs was someone fundamentally Light, but there was so much Darkness lurking inside that it almost made Wolfang want to leap with joy. Pure little people held no interest from him, but those conflicted, those with inner demons and anger...those, those people Wolfang liked.
Granted it was basically playing Manipulation on Easy Mode, but it never stopped being fun.
Yet he could detect based on their bond that Jonahs was not enjoying this. Oh hoh, it seemed our boy was growing up – he was going to attack that Mega City and take revenge for his dear girlfriend's mistreatment and the repression going on.
Maybe he's more MY son than your grandson, Sora.
He knew from his capabilities that Sora, too, was taking actions that ultimately played right into what was expected. While the Inverse Org running around was troublesome, they chose a poor model for their appearance.
Wolfang cupped his chin in his hand, and grinned, thinking of Elva and her trip into Oceansburg. It looked like Hound Dog was active, which was good, given that things there would lead everyone together. Everyone danced on invisible strings, and these strings would guide them back together.
The universe was both kind and cruel in that way.
The man some called the Wolf King for his predation and nature turned, and suddenly transported himself into a surprisingly advanced laboratory deep within Tsare Viole. This was something that was being worked on, since before he returned.
It was quite a surprise to find "that" still operational. But ultimately it was a pleasant surprise.
That figure covered in spell tags operated the machines, large egg-like machines that had the interesting effect of manipulating memories and now, with the new administrator over them, existence. Wolfang simply moved his hand and he was standing inside the egg-clutch room.
He looked over the sole figure – for now – inside one of the egg machines, and he smiled at the figure covered in spell tags, "This is almost done, I hope."
"These things take time, Wolf King. Functionally I am restoring the existence of someone who was erased from the very fabric of time by Cavendish's actions with that machine." The darkened figure flourished his hand, showing the fact the figure was see-through in some places, showing data and what looked like life itself coursing into him.
Wolfang pirouetted and looked at the dark figure, "What's his name? Well, I already know, I just want to hear you say it."
The dark figure said mirthlessly, looking over the prone figure inside the egg of the last world, "His name is..."